TransKalahari Corridor gets further financial injection

Leonard Neill THE SWEDISH International Development Agency (SIDA) has signed a second financing agreement with the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) to enable it to further its marketing and promotional plans for the operation of the Trans Kalahari Corridor. The first phase of SIDA support was for institution building, enabling the WBCG to set up workshops and seminars for this purpose. "The second phase builds on these foundations and will involve continued promoting and marketing," said Goran Hedebro, Swedish Embassy Mission Head at the signing ceremony held in Windhoek recently. "One explicit focus now is to extend the activities of WBCG into the SADC region. Specifically this second grant will help launch a campaign to advertise the Corridor opportunity more aggressively in the region and internationally." The Trans Kalahari Corridor has now been chosen by SADC customs authorities as a model for "Express Transit Procedures", applicable at a later stage to other cross border transport routes in southern Africa, WBCG Business Development Executive Frank Gschwender said. This statement was echoed by WBCG chairman Wessie Wessels, who announced that corridor development groups in Botswana and Mozambique had asked the group to share its experience in institution building with them and to give advice on operations in their regions.